1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stamp die assembly for a stamp, and more particularly to a stamp die assembly for a self-inking stamping device.
2. Description of Related Art
There are several types of stamps available for consumers to choose and one of the types is a self-inking type. A self-inking stamping device allows a user to stamp papers or envelopes continuously.
With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional self-inking stamping device comprises a hollow body (30), a stamp push (50), two springs (60) and a stamp die assembly (40).
The hollow body (30) has a front opening, a back, two sidewalls, two side slots (302), two semi-circular notches (301) and an ink pad (33). The side slots (302) are defined through the sidewalls and each has a top edge. The semi-circular notches (301) are defined respectively on the top edges of the side slots (302). The ink pad (33) is mounted inside the hollow body (30).
The stamp push (50) is mounted slidably on the hollow body (30) and has a front, a back, two side edges, a handle (52), two side tabs (51) and a slide rod (53). The front of the stamp push (50) faces the back of the hollow body (30). The handle (52) is formed on the back of the stamp push (50). The side tabs (51) extend from the front respectively on the side edges of the stamp push (50), correspond to and are mounted respectively and slidably on the sidewalls of the hollow body (30). The slide rod (53) is mounted slidably inside the side slots (302) through the side tabs (51) of the stamp push (50).
The springs (60) are mounted between the back of the hollow body (30) and the front of the stamp push (50).
The stamp die assembly (40) is mounted rotatably inside the hollow body (30) and has a die bracket (41) and a replaceable stamp die (42).
With further reference to FIG. 9, the die bracket (41) has a front, a back, a top edge, two sides, two positioning tabs (411), a transverse recess (412), two clips (413) and two overturning tabs (414). The positioning tabs (411) are formed on the back respectively on the sides of the die bracket (41) and each has a clearance between the positioning tab (411) and the back of the die bracket (41). The transverse recess (412) is defined on the top edge of the die bracket (41). The clips (413) are formed on the front and on opposite sides of the transverse recess (412) in the die bracket (41). The overturning tabs (414) are mounted respectively on the sides of the die bracket (41) and each has a shaft formed thereon. The shafts are rotatably mounted respectively inside the side slots.
The replaceable stamp die (42) is mounted detachably on the back of the die bracket (41) against the ink pad (33) and has a front surface, a patterned surface, two side edges, a plug (422) and two mounting tabs (421). The patterned surface is opposite to the front surface of the replaceable stamp die (42) and abuts against the ink pad (33). The plug (422) is formed on the front surface, is mounted between the clips (413) and has two side strips (423). The side strips (423) are formed respectively on opposite sides of the plug (422), and correspond to and engage respectively with the clips (413). The mounting tabs (421) are formed respectively on the side edges of the replaceable stamp die (42), and are mounted respectively inside the clearance between the corresponding one of the positioning tabs (413) and the back of the die bracket (41). When the replaceable stamp die (42) becomes worn, it can be replaced with a new one to maintain the stamping quality of the self-inking stamp.
To stamp a paper with the self-inking stamp, the stamp push (50) is pressed with a force toward the stamp die assembly (40) so the slide rod (53) pushes the die bracket (41) and causes the stamp die assembly (40) to rotate to 180 degrees. The patterned surface rotates to face the paper and stamps characters or images on the paper. When the urging force on the stamp push (50) is relaxed, the springs (60) press against the stamp push (50) with a resilient force and cause the stamp push (50) to go back to the original position. The stamp die assembly (40) rotates to 180 degrees and the patterned surface of the replaceable stamp die (42) is located against the ink pad (33) again.
However, each of the mounting tabs (421) of the replaceable stamp die (42) has a width about 3–5 millimeter (mm) and causes the size of the replaceable stamp die (42) to be excessively large. The die bracket (41), hollow body (30) and stamp push (50) have to be sized large enough to correspond to the replaceable stamp die (42) so as the self-inking stamping device is bulky and has a high cost.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a stamp die assembly for a self-inking stamping device to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.